The First Line - CrimeSpace2024-03-28T12:21:28Zhttps://crimespace.ning.com/forum/topics/the-first-line?commentId=537324%3AComment%3A186554&feed=yes&xn_auth=noOh, man, I am SO with you on…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2009-07-02:537324:Comment:2059732009-07-02T18:09:11.509ZminervaKhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/minervakoenig
Oh, man, I am SO with you on the great first half thing. I'm also with I.J. on the overblown importance of the first line. Every best-seller you open these days seems to start with the dreaded one-line paragraph, in a more and more thinly veiled attempt to 'hook the reader.' Frankly, I'm starting to feel downright offended by it. I'm not a fish, for cryin' out loud; enough with the hooking, just tell me a great story.<br />
<br />
MK<br />
<a href="http://www.minervakoenig.com">www.minervakoenig.com</a>
Oh, man, I am SO with you on the great first half thing. I'm also with I.J. on the overblown importance of the first line. Every best-seller you open these days seems to start with the dreaded one-line paragraph, in a more and more thinly veiled attempt to 'hook the reader.' Frankly, I'm starting to feel downright offended by it. I'm not a fish, for cryin' out loud; enough with the hooking, just tell me a great story.<br />
<br />
MK<br />
<a href="http://www.minervakoenig.com">www.minervakoenig.com</a> People are predictable. That'…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2009-07-02:537324:Comment:2059462009-07-02T09:58:18.821ZShaun Jeffreyhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/ShaunJeffrey
People are predictable. That's what makes them easy to kill. - The first line of my recently published novel, The Kult.
People are predictable. That's what makes them easy to kill. - The first line of my recently published novel, The Kult. Aha! Divine inspiration.tag:crimespace.ning.com,2009-05-20:537324:Comment:1992632009-05-20T21:20:22.663ZI. J. Parkerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
Aha! Divine inspiration.
Aha! Divine inspiration. That's a pretty funny first l…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2009-05-20:537324:Comment:1992342009-05-20T19:48:38.239ZRichard Kunzmannhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/RichardKunzmann
That's a pretty funny first line. My all time favourite opener is something like "The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed." It's not a 2008-2009 novel, but Stephen King's intro to the Gunslinger has stuck with me ever since I read it as a little kid, and I think about it's simplicity every time I look at my own.
That's a pretty funny first line. My all time favourite opener is something like "The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed." It's not a 2008-2009 novel, but Stephen King's intro to the Gunslinger has stuck with me ever since I read it as a little kid, and I think about it's simplicity every time I look at my own. Especially if the second and…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2009-03-08:537324:Comment:1868242009-03-08T15:52:24.919ZJon Loomishttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/JonLoomis
Especially if the second and third sentences are clever, too. I'm actually not a big fan of the first line hook, either--it feels too much like self-parody nowadays, see "Hitchhiker's Guide." I want the first few lines to establish setting and introduce a character or two, and do it in a way that captures my attention.
Especially if the second and third sentences are clever, too. I'm actually not a big fan of the first line hook, either--it feels too much like self-parody nowadays, see "Hitchhiker's Guide." I want the first few lines to establish setting and introduce a character or two, and do it in a way that captures my attention. Which illustrates that the hu…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2009-03-08:537324:Comment:1868192009-03-08T14:30:14.478ZI. J. Parkerhttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
Which illustrates that the human eye flies much too fast for clever first sentences to have much of an impact.
Which illustrates that the human eye flies much too fast for clever first sentences to have much of an impact. I don't have that problem muc…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2009-03-08:537324:Comment:1868012009-03-08T02:21:36.425ZJon Loomishttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/JonLoomis
I don't have that problem much; my characters are a lot funnier and smarter than I am, in the moment—I just let them talk, and usually what they say is exactly what they <i>would</i> say. It's only when I try to <i>make</i> them say stuff that they sound dumb or awkward or wrong. It took me most of a draft of a first novel to get to that point, though.
I don't have that problem much; my characters are a lot funnier and smarter than I am, in the moment—I just let them talk, and usually what they say is exactly what they <i>would</i> say. It's only when I try to <i>make</i> them say stuff that they sound dumb or awkward or wrong. It took me most of a draft of a first novel to get to that point, though. Ha! You'd have gotten there o…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2009-03-07:537324:Comment:1867842009-03-07T23:59:23.348ZJon Loomishttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/JonLoomis
Ha! You'd have gotten there on your own in another sentence.
Ha! You'd have gotten there on your own in another sentence. Here's the opening line to SW…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2009-03-07:537324:Comment:1867392009-03-07T18:12:22.434ZGrant McKenziehttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/McKenzie
Here's the opening line to SWITCH, which comes out in the UK in July.<br />
<br />
Rick Ironwood staggered back from the blow, his trick knee giving out with a pop as his feet twisted sideways in a puddle of grimy engine oil.
Here's the opening line to SWITCH, which comes out in the UK in July.<br />
<br />
Rick Ironwood staggered back from the blow, his trick knee giving out with a pop as his feet twisted sideways in a puddle of grimy engine oil. I want the legs.
That's the…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2009-03-07:537324:Comment:1867212009-03-07T16:21:48.098ZJack Getzehttps://crimespace.ning.com/profile/JGetze
I want the legs.<br />
<br />
That's the opening sentence of QUEENPIN by Megan Abbott, and it sure made me want to read the second line.
I want the legs.<br />
<br />
That's the opening sentence of QUEENPIN by Megan Abbott, and it sure made me want to read the second line.